


all the ghouls

by toque



Series: spooky wars [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Eldritch Anakin Skywalker, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:33:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27319300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toque/pseuds/toque
Summary: Anakin is determined to be Obi-Wan's padawan, and no, Obi-Wan doesn't have a say in the matter.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Series: spooky wars [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1991056
Comments: 35
Kudos: 256
Collections: Spooky Wars Week





	all the ghouls

**Author's Note:**

> day 7!!!!! hidden monsters

Despite his new responsibilities now that his Master—no, not his Master, he’d been repudiated before even coming back to Naboo—Qui-Gon, had passed into the Force ~~was murdered,~~ the evening after Obi-Wan killed the first Sith in a thousand years he slept like the dead.

He woke up to see a small boy at the edge of his bed, staring at him.

It took a moment to recall his name. It took a moment to remember what had even _happened_ yesterday. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Obi-Wan chose to focus on his curiosity instead of the black pit of despair that seemed to be waiting for him to let go for even a second.

“Anakin? What are you doing in here? Who let you in?”

The blond boy shrugged. “One of the handmaidens. Dormé, I think. She said to tell you that there’s breakfast if you want it—but if you don’t, I’ll eat it! Naboo food is _wizard.”_ The energy the 

“Ah—well maybe you can have a little of mine, I’m not very hungry.” It was both a lie and not—his body was demanding calories to make up for the incredible energy expenditure of yesterday’s fight, but imagining eating anything made his stomach twist into knots. “Will you wait a moment for me to get dressed and then show me where we’re eating?”

“Alright!” The boy sat down and pulled something mechanical from a pocket, fiddling with it as Obi-Wan left for the fresher.

Breakfast _was_ very good, if a bit awkward. the handmaidens all offered their sympathy for Qui-Gon’s death and left it at that, and Obi-Wan likewise only offered brief condolences for all the citizens they had been too late to free from the Trade Federation. Breakfast came to a hasty conclusion when the Queen was needed for more relief work, and Obi-Wan and Anakin were set loose in the palace for the rest of the day.

Obi-Wan returned to his rooms to meditate, bringing Anakin along just to keep the boy out of trouble. He’d nearly spit out his drink when someone mentioned that _Anakin_ had been the one to destroy the droid control ship, so he felt it was best to keep the boy where he could see him. During his meditation, he couldn’t help but keep poking at the broken bond in his mind like a missing tooth. On one prod, he found a small speck of light that had certainly _not_ been there when he woke up.

Poking at it made Anakin’s head shoot up from where he was now gutting a palace mouse droid. _Anakin?_

_Yeah Obi-Wan?_

Obi-Wan froze. He continued verbally this time, “Did you make a bond with me?”

“Yep!”

Obi-Wan had struggled to make a strong bond with Qui-Gon almost their entire partnership but Anakin had begun one between them in a few hours?

“You felt lonely,” Anakin answered the unasked question and returned to his droid.

Obi-Wan spluttered for a moment before forcing himself back into a semblance of composure and tried to reason with the boy. "Just because someone feels lonely doesn't mean you can just...insert yourself into part of their mind!"

“But Qui-Gon made a _deal!”_ Anakin scowled. “And you made _him_ a _promise.”_

A shiver ran down Obi-Wan’s spine. He hadn’t told Anakin that, and it was highly doubtful that the Naboo had let a nine-year-old watch the security footage from the reactor.

“I don’t even know if the Council will _allow_ me to take you on,” Obi-Wan pointed out carefully. “I’m not a Knight, I’m—I _was_ still learning from Qui-Gon.”

“They’ll let you take me as a padawan,” the boy continued, cheerful. “They _have_ to.” His blue eyes were bright—so bright, and Obi-Wan had to look away from the boy’s unblinking stare.

“...Perhaps,” Obi-Wan stammered out.

“I think I’ll be happier with you than I would have been with Master Qui-Gon,” Anakin said solemnly before grinning. Obi-Wan didn’t know how to respond to that, and was perfectly happy to see Anakin rush out the door to go see if he could find the little astromech he’d bonded with. He needed to talk to Padmé again.

Waiting for the comm, he mentally walked through everything he knew about Anakin. The situation as he’d learned from Qui-Gon had been the perfect storm. An older child stronger in the Force than anyone Obi-Wan could recall from Jedi history in danger—but possessing precisely what the mission needed to succeed. There was trusting the Force and then there was blindness.

And now Qui-Gon had gone and trapped him with the creature.

“Your grace?”

“Master Jedi! Please, come sit with us.”

Obi-Wan took the offered spot and the cup of tea that one of the handmaidens held out with a polite smile.

“Thank you for your hospitality, your grace.”

“Please, I think we’ve been through enough these past weeks that we’re past the point of formality.”

Obi-Wan let his smile fade into something smaller, but more sincere. “Of course, Padmé.” Glancing around at the gaggle of handmaidens, he decided that dropping formality meant he could cut straight to the reason he’d sought them out instead of making small talk. “I don’t mean to pry, but I was wondering what you could tell me about Anakin? He’s only mentioned that you met on Tatooine—and the podrace, of course.”

Padmé and a couple of the handmaidens giggled. Of course Anakin had told Obi-Wan about the podrace, he was more excited about that than blowing up the droid control ship. Padmé sobered quickly and blinked at him, then seemed to recall that he hadn’t been with them for most of their time on Tatooine.

She told him about the walk into Mos Epsa, and looking for the parts, learning that they had no valid currency and nothing worth trading. There was a boy who helped them in the shop, as well as when Jar Jar had run afoul of a mean-spirited dug.

“Padmé, you were with Qui-Gon when he visited Anakin’s home. Do you by chance remember his mother’s name?”

“Of course I do, she was lovely. Her name was—” Padmé stopped, then blinked rapidly for a moment. “Please excuse me, I seem to have forgotten it.”

Further questioning revealed that she couldn’t recall several key details of the story, including Anakin’s mother’s name or where exactly they had gone to get the parts needed for repairs.

Padmé admitted that it was odd that a random junk shop on Tatooine had parts compatible with the royal Naboo cruiser, and Obi-Wan’s sense of unease only grew the longer they talked. He left Padmé and her handmaidens when it became clear that she was becoming annoyed that she couldn’t remember such important details, thanking them for their time.

* * *

Over the next few days, as they waited for the contingent from Coruscant to reach Naboo—including the newly-elected Sheev Palpatine—Obi-Wan’s anxiety about Anakin only increased.

It seemed like Anakin had sprung fully-formed from the sands of Tatooine specially to torment him.

The true nature of the boy remained a secret. No matter who he confided in, the next time he spoke to them would be the first time he'd mentioned anything odd in their memories. It was as if he had to introduce who Anakin was every time he talked to someone.

No one could be convinced that Anakin was _not_ already his padawan, though Padmé had been the one to request robes for him. The layers and style of Jedi padawan robes had been correct down to the last stitch. All of the handmaidens cooed over “his padawan” despite the fact he’d only talked to the boy once before coming to Naboo, but Anakin seemed so pleased with it that Obi-Wan hesitated to discomfit anyone by repeatedly claiming that he hardly knew him. All the while he could feel eyes on the back of his neck, but when he turned around, Anakin was never there.

He remembered Qui-Gon's wild claim that Anakin had no father.

He’d nearly gone out of his mind when they received confirmation that the Senate-registered shuttle was in orbit. Obi-Wan could have wept with relief when he realized that Masters Yoda and Windu had already met Anakin, and would be able to help him with the boy.

Anakin was still trailing after him, and they were ushered into the courtyard where they’d receive the new Chancellor and other Jedi.

Obi-Wan couldn’t deny that the pomp and circumstance grated on him, but it would be worth it to meet with Yoda and Windu quickly. He placed his hand on Anakin’s shoulder in an effort to get the boy to calm down a bit, and to his surprise, Anakin leaned into him, projecting happiness into the Force. Obi-Wan relaxed almost instinctively.

The Force swelled around them as the Chancellor disembarked the shuttle. Obi-Wan and the other Jedi immediately looked around for the danger, but none of them looked to where Anakin stood glaring daggers at the older man. 

The Chancellor walked closer, unaware of any danger as the Force began prickling against Obi-Wan’s mind. There were a few formalities that Obi-Wan half-followed before the Chancellor was turning to his prospective padawan.

“We will watch you career with great— _arghhhhh”_ the Chancellor of the Republic was cut off in the middle of his sentence with a wet gurgle as Anakin’s jaw seemed to _stretch,_ revealing a maw lined with razor sharp teeth that bit a sizable chunk from the Chancellor’s neck and upper chest. There was a ripping sound, followed by crunching.

Obi-Wan watched in horror as the Chancellor’s body slumped to the ground before turning his gaze to his padawan. His face was covered in red, and the white robes he wore were soaked. Blood dripped from his chin as Obi-Wan gaped.

Anakin blinked back innocently.

Everyone stood frozen until Master Windu’s strained voice broke the stunned tension. “Padawan Kenobi...did your padawan just _eat_ the Chancellor?”

**Author's Note:**

> i love little baby eldritch horror anakin. he's so weird.


End file.
